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655-705 Level|   Weaken|         
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madhavbhaskar
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Twelve years ago and again five years ago, there were extended periods 25 Sep 2025, 02:02
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On X-->Y questions, aren't the ways to undermine the causal link between X and Y.

  1. Provide alternative cause.
    • Y could actually be due to Z, not X.
  2. Reverse causation.
    • Maybe Y → X instead of X → Y.
    • E.g., Faster recovery patients are more likely to be prescribed Drug X.
  3. Show correlation without causation.
    • X and Y both caused by a third factor.
  4. Show counterexamples.
    • X happens but Y does not. Or Y happens without X.
  5. Challenge mechanism.
    • Show X cannot plausibly cause Y (contradicts biology, physics, etc.).
  6. Control groups / data flaws.
    • The data linking X → Y is biased, incomplete, or inaccurately measured.

In this case, for option (E), isn't it Z --> Y (sharp improvement in the efficiency of darfir's manufacturing plants will lead to darfir's products a bargain on the world markets even without weakening of the pundra relative to other currencies) weakening the case fir X -->Y.

KarishmaB

It is a 'weaken the plan' question.

Plan: When currency weakens, exports increase. (Foreigners can buy more using same amount of their currencies so they buy more.) Therefore, in order to cause another similarly sized increase in exports, the government should allow the pundra to become weak again.

Aim: to cause another similarly sized increase in exports

Focus on the highlighted words. The aim is to cause a similarly sized increase in exports. That is what the plan is trying to achieve. On weaken questions, we focus on the conclusion. What the plan is trying to achieve is parallel to conclusion. So we focus on trying to weaken what the plan is trying to achieve. We need to find something that tells us why we will not get a similarly sized increase in exports even if we weaken pundra.

Options a, c, d and e do not talk about the reasons we will not see similarly sized increase in exports.
Option B tells us that darfir's manufacturing sector is now operating at near-peak levels. If this is true, exports cannot increase much because darfir cannot manufacture more than it is manufacturing now. If there are no extra products manufactured, there cannot be extra exports. In previous instances, darfir was manufacturing below capacity so they could manufacture extra products. Hence the plan worked in those instances but this time it may not. Therefore, option (B) is correct.­

A. Several of the politicians now recommending that the pundra be allowed to become weak made that same recommendation before each of the last two periods of currency weakness.



This doesn’t weaken the plan. If anything, it lends a bit more credence that these experts perhaps know what they are talking about!



B. After several decades of operating well below peak capacity, Darfir's manufacturing sector is now operating at near-peak levels.



If Darfir’s manufacturing sector is operating at peak, it is very unlikely that it can support much increase in exports. So even if the currency weakens, the exports may not increase much. In previous two instances, Darfir was manufacturing below capacity so they could manufacture extra products. Hence the plan worked in those instances but this time it may not. It weakens our plan.
Correct. 



C. The economy of a country experiencing a rise in exports will become healthier only if the country's currency is strong or the rise in exports is significant.



The aim is not a healthier economy but instead increased exports. So, this is irrelevant. 



D. Those countries whose manufactured products compete with Darfir's on the world market all currently have stable currencies.



The point is - will allowing pundra to become weak lead to increase in exports?



E. A sharp improvement in the efficiency of Darfir's manufacturing plants would make Darfir's products a bargain on world markets even without any weakening of the pundra relative to other currencies.



What else can lead to increase in exports is irrelevant.

Answer (B)

Weaken questions are discussed here:

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Twelve years ago and again five years ago, there were extended periods 26 Sep 2025, 01:07
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madhavbhaskar
On X-->Y questions, aren't the ways to undermine the causal link between X and Y.

  1. Provide alternative cause.
    • Y could actually be due to Z, not X.
  2. Reverse causation.
    • Maybe Y → X instead of X → Y.
    • E.g., Faster recovery patients are more likely to be prescribed Drug X.
  3. Show correlation without causation.
    • X and Y both caused by a third factor.
  4. Show counterexamples.
    • X happens but Y does not. Or Y happens without X.
  5. Challenge mechanism.
    • Show X cannot plausibly cause Y (contradicts biology, physics, etc.).
  6. Control groups / data flaws.
    • The data linking X → Y is biased, incomplete, or inaccurately measured.

In this case, for option (E), isn't it Z --> Y (sharp improvement in the efficiency of darfir's manufacturing plants will lead to darfir's products a bargain on the world markets even without weakening of the pundra relative to other currencies) weakening the case fir X -->Y.


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madhavbhaskar Good to see your understanding on these questions. Your list of ways to weaken X -->Y arguments is spot-on. However, there's a subtle distinction you're missing with option (E).

Option (E) is not actually weakening the causal relationship X → Y (weak pundra → increased exports). Instead, it's offering an alternative path to the same destination.

What "Alternative Cause" Actually Means in Weakening:

- True alternative cause: "The past export increases were actually due to Z, not the weak pundra"
- What (E) says: "In the future, Z could also lead to export increases"

See the difference? A true alternative causes challenges what caused past events. Option (E) doesn't dispute that weak pundra caused past export increases - it just says there's another way to achieve the goal in the future.

Why This Matters:

The question asks what gives grounds to doubt the recommendation will achieve its aim. Option (E) doesn't explain why weakening the pundra wouldn't work - it just offers a different solution that would also work.

Think of it this way: If I say "Taking the highway will get you downtown faster," and you respond "Well, the subway could also get you downtown faster" - you haven't weakened my claim about the highway. You've just offered an alternative route.

You can practice similar questions here (you'll find a lot of OG questions) - select Critical Reasoning under Verbal and select Weaken questions to practice. You can choose more types and further filter based on the difficulty level.
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